No disciplinary proceedings to follow rapist ordinand Timothy Storey case

TWO clergy in the diocese of London who were strongly criticised for safeguarding failures in the case of an ordinand who was a rapist will not face proceedings under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM).
An independent review commissioned last year by the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Richard Chartres, considered the diocese’s part in the case of Timothy Storey, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of three charges of rape and one of sexual assault against teenage girls (News, 22 April).

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/24-february/news/uk/no-cdm-proceedings-to-follow-storey-case 

The Mental Health Effects of Child Sexual Abuse on Males

Many reasons have been put forward in an effort to explain a large amount of under-reporting or even undetected incidents of sexual abuse against boys.
Doctoral research conducted by Scott D. Easton hospitalized, ACSW, LMSW Boston College Graduate School of Social Work in March, 2012 demonstrated that the average reporting time was around 20 years.

http://www.groundreport.com/mental-health-effects-child-sexual-abuse-males/ 

‘Holy-crazy’ priest who dumped body parts in Hudson is only chaplain to get the chair in U.S.

On Sept. 5, 1913, neatly bound bundles of body parts sawn with surgical precision began washing up on the New Jersey shore of the Hudson River.
Over several days, authorities pieced together six fragments — minus the head, which never surfaced — into a single human being, a formerly robust young woman.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/priest-threw-body-hudson-chaplain-executed-u-s-article-1.2982357 

the response of Geelong Grammar School to allegations of child sexual abuse of former students at the school

The report follows a public hearing in September and October 2015 which inquired into the response of Geelong Grammar’s school council, principals and other members of staff to concerns raised about inappropriate conduct, or complaints about child sexual abuse, by teaching and non-teaching staff at the school.
The Royal Commission heard evidence from 13 former students at the school who told the public hearing they were sexually abused by staff at the school between 1956 and 1989. The mothers of two former students also gave evidence.

https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/2017-02/report-into-geelong-grammar-school-released 

What I learned from a convicted sex offender

In light of ex-Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos’s remarks suggesting that mature 13-year-old boys and adult men can have consensual relationships, I want to share what I recently learned at the Global Summit on Child Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community convened by Kol V’Oz. Listening to the male sex offender who was convicted of sexually abusing young boys in his Jewish community gave me pause about the areas we may have neglected to consider in our quest to prevent and address abuse when it arises in our institutions.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-i-learned-from-a-convicted-sex-offender/ 

Archbishop's QC friend 'allowed to commit abuse after evangelicals failed to report him'

A barrister at the centre of a child abuse scandal committed a series of sickening assaults against young men after leading evangelical groups failed to report him to the police, it is claimed.
John Smyth QC, a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is accused of carrying out sadomasochistic attacks on boys he met at Christian camps in Britain and Zimbabwe.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/02/26/archbishops-qc-friend-allowed-commit-abuse-afterevangelicals/ 

POPE QUIETLY TRIMS SANCTIONS FOR SEX ABUSERS SEEKING MERCY, VICTIMS RESPOND

Pope Francis must remember that there is a difference between crime and sin. Child sex abuse is a crime for which the offender must be held accountable. While Francis may feel sorry for a predator, the only person with the right to forgive an abuser is the victim. And even then, the offender must be held accountable for his actions so that he may not go on to hurt others.
The Pope has created window dressing tribunals and commissions, but as far as we know he has yet to take actions that will actually protect children. This latest move is just another indication that it’s just “business as usual” inside the Vatican. We fear that children will continue to needlessly be placed at risk.

http://www.snapnetwork.org/pope_quietly_trims_sanctions_for_sex_abusers_seeking_mercy_victims_respond 

Pope Francis: Mercy For Child Molesters

Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders in ways that survivors of abuse and the pope’s own advisers question.
One case has come back to haunt him: An Italian priest who received the pope’s clemency was later convicted by an Italian criminal court for his sex crimes against children as young as 12. The Rev. Mauro Inzoli is now facing a second church trial after new evidence emerged against him, The Associated Press has learned.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/pope-francis-mercy-for-child-molesters/ 

Gough Whitlam and how Australia facilitated a child sexual abuse crisis

GOUGH Whitlam wrote a letter to Pope Benedict XVI in October, 2012, nearly four decades after his government granted formal diplomatic recognition to the Vatican, and only weeks before another Labor prime minister, Julia Gillard, established a royal commission that would expose the extent of child sexual abuse within the Australian Catholic Church.
Diplomatic relations with the Vatican from 1973 was a “memorable and significant initiative” of his government, Whitlam told the Pope. The relationship was one “which has always been maintained with deep mutual respect and consideration”.

http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/4492365/gough-whitlam-and-how-australia-facilitated-a-child-sexual-abuse-crisis/?cs=2452 

Catholic leaders in Savannah to discuss priest sex abuse scandals

A three-day conference of Catholic church leaders will convene in Savannah beginning Sunday to discuss the church’s ongoing response to protecting children and youth in the wake of priest sex abuse scandals.
The 2017 Child and Youth Protection Catholic Leadership Conference will feature a number of speakers, including Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory of Atlanta who is co-hosting the event with Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer of Savannah.

http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-02-25/catholic-leaders-savannah-discuss-priest-sex-abuse-scandals# 

No order for seminarian pedophilia test

The Vatican has directed Catholic seminaries to assess aspiring priests and brothers for homosexuality but not for an attraction to children, a royal commission has heard.

Sister Lydia Allen, who conducts assessments at a Homebush seminary in Sydney, said she didn't think there needed to be a direction to test those who wanted to enter the priesthood or a religious order for sexual tendencies towards children because it was just "obvious" it should be done.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/34407017/priests-need-more-in-the-field-training/#page1 

Vulnerable British children shipped to the colonies after WWII suffered 'unacceptable depravity' including torture, rape and slavery, abuse inquiry hears.

Vulnerable British children shipped overseas after the Second World War suffered 'unacceptable depravity' including torture, sexual abuse and slavery, the first day of the controversial public inquiry into child sexual abuse heard today.

Thousands of children, many of whom were in care, were relocated to distant corners of the British empire only to fall into the hands of sexual predators.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4263236/UK-child-abuse-inquiry-opens.html 

Children in state care allegedly medicated as punishment, Queensland's public guardian finds

Queensland children in residential care are being given medication to control their behaviour, without appropriate diagnosis and parental consent, the state's Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) says.

It has raised concerns a medication being used to chemically restrain children had serious side-effects and was being administered without consent of a parent or guardian.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-23/children-state-care-allegedly-medicated-punishment-qld/8296982 

Australian archbishops to ask Vatican for clarity on confession issues

Australia’s five archbishops said they would consider asking the Vatican for clarification on concerns raised in a government inquiry into sexual abuse of children in the church.
Among those concerns were whether the seal of confession includes only the sins confessed, not other information revealed in confession, and under what circumstances — specifically concerning an abuser — a priest could withhold absolution.

http://catholicphilly.com/2017/02/news/world-news/australian-archbishops-to-ask-vatican-for-clarity-on-confession-issues/ 

Pope quietly trims sanctions for sex abusers seeking mercy

Pope Francis has quietly reduced sanctions against a handful of pedophile priests, applying his vision of a merciful church even to its worst offenders. One case has come back to haunt him: An Italian priest who received the pope's clemency was later convicted by an Italian criminal court for his sex crimes against children as young as 12.

https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/02/25/pope-quietly-trims-sanctions-sex-abusers-seeking-mercy/